NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tulane University says its business school plans a $35 million expansion, starting this spring.
It includes a 45,000-square-foot addition to join the school's two current buildings, as well as renovating 40,000 square feet of existing space in the A.B. Freeman School of Business.
"Business students now account for nearly a third of all of our undergraduates," Tulane President Mike Fitts said in a statement. "With more than 2,900 students, Freeman is one of the largest of our nine schools. This expansion and renovation will cement Tulane's reputation as one of the top destinations for the nation's brightest students of business."
Business school dean Ira Solomon says in a news release Monday that enrollment has increased nearly 50 percent in the last five years.
"Freeman's enrollment has jumped by nearly 50 percent in the last five years, making us one of the fastest-growing business schools in the country," said Ira Solomon, Freeman School dean. "This much-needed addition will enable us to meet the widening demand for our educational programs while dramatically enhancing the learning environment for current and future students."
The project includes flexible classroom space, expanded breakout rooms, a new financial analysis lab, a larger Career Management Center and incubator space for student startups within a new home for the Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The complex will also feature a three-story atrium, additional space for faculty offices and a new Student Gateway that will serve as a gathering space and entrance to the Monroe Quadrangle.
